For those who remember the days when downtown Hindman was thriving with retail businesses, Tuesday, January 6, was a very sad day. Napier Family Drug, the last of those family businesses, closed their doors for the last time.

Napier’s has been a favorite spot for Knott Countians for many years. For people who worked in Hindman, it was a gathering place. Everybody loved lunch at the grill. Pharmacy customers from Knott and surrounding counties chose Napier’s because they could always count on accurate and efficient service — and it consistently came with a helpful and friendly attitude. It was a good place to stop and pick up a greeting card, candy, gifts like cologne or pocket knives. The staff was always smiling and welcoming. When you came through the front door, somebody was always sitting at a table ready to share a kind word or a laugh. Burnice was in the back, joking with customers while he and his crew filled prescriptions. Everyone who came there regularly felt like family.

Burnice Neil Napier, pharmacist and owner, has been behind the prescription counter there since August 17, 1981. It was Francis Family Drug back then, and Burnice came from June Buchanan Clinic to work for Clarence Francis. He purchased the business on May 1, 1990, and bought the building from Francis’ son in October 2012. Even as, one by one, other downtown businesses moved or closed, Napier Family Drug was successful.

The decision to close the store came as a shock to everyone, but Burnice explains, “The writing was on the wall.” Problems beyond local control made it increasingly difficult for the small, family-owned enterprise. “We faced lack of proper insurance reimbursement, low fees — some insurance companies forced customers to use mail order pharmacies, and there were lock-outs from insurance. Prices of generic drugs raised. When doctors in Hazard began to sell their practices to larger organizations, I knew it was coming.”

Burnice Napier sold his business to Rite Aid. The good news is, he will be working full time at Rite Aid in Holly Hills. He made sure the offer included a place for his staff as well. Pat Gayheart and Barb Smith chose not to go, but pharmacy techs Karen Johnson and Patty Gayheart will be at Rite Aid, too. Even Napier’s phone number will remain active, and will ring in at Rite Aid.

“Our customers who want to stay with us are going to be treated like they always were,” Napier told the Times. “If you need something, all you have to do is call and ask for me or one of the girls.”

On an ordinary day, a trip to Napier’s would usually include teasing and light-hearted banter from Burnice Neil. Tuesday was not an ordinary day — it was an emotional day. The man who is so seldom serious had a different look in his eyes as he talked to friends who came to the store for the last time.

“I’ve had the best employees, patients, and friends here that a man could ever have,” Burnice said. “They were always the most important thing about being here.”

Thursday will be Burnice Neil Napier’s first day at Rite Aid. Karen and Patty started their new jobs on Wednesday.

Find the Troublesome Creek Times at local stores in Knott and surrounding counties or subscribe to the Times at (606)-785-5134

Mayor Tracy Neice took command of his post with a determination of cutting expenses and finding ways to save the city money. He explained in the first city council meeting of the new year Monday night that within four hours of going over bills he found ways to cut $10,000 from annual expenses. He expects to cut more utility costs. Mayor Neice is checking cell phones, power bills, gas bills, etc. to make sure they are serving the city’s needs.

“I want to know everything we pay on and the physical addresses that go with all the power bills,” said Neice. “I don’t see us paying electric bills for somebody else.”

Councilman Bob Young agreed, “If it is on someone else’s property they should pay it.”

“I asked Tim Blanton of Kentucky Rural Water Association to come talk to us tonight,” relayed the mayor. “We have to get a handle on our water, our leaks and collections — what is owed to us, before we can move forward at this point.”

Blanton began, “Rural Water is a federally funded non-profit organization that (the City of Hindman) are members of. You pay your dues each year so you can attend training sessions and have the ability to call on us with virtually any wastewater or water question.”

He explained that they should start out by doing a comprehensive water analysis. They find out how much water is missing and how to fix it. By just looking at the water situation initially, Blanton guessed they were missing a minimum of three million gallons of water a month. Missing water can result from leaks, theft, or meter inaccuracies.

The council agreed they wanted help from Rural Water in identifying problems and finding fixes. Blanton said the Hindman facility is too large for only two people working water and sewer. Hindman has approximately 855 water and sewer customers.

Neice asked if the Rural Water service would cost anything. Most of the ser-…

Find the Troublesome Creek Times at local stores in Knott and surrounding counties or subscribe to the Times at (606)-785-5134

]]>http://www.tct2.com/2015/01/12/new-mayor-gets-aggressive-start/feed/0Perry Co. clinic pharmacy robbedhttp://www.tct2.com/2015/01/12/perry-co-clinic-pharmacy-robbed/
http://www.tct2.com/2015/01/12/perry-co-clinic-pharmacy-robbed/#commentsMon, 12 Jan 2015 16:59:01 +0000jhallhttp://www.tct2.com/?p=1179(Cornettsville, Ky.) – A security guard was held at gunpoint and a pharmacy robbed at a Perry County clinic early Sunday morning.

Kentucky State Police Post 13 in Hazard received a security alarm activation call at the Leatherwood Blackey Clinic in the Cornettsville community at 1:39 a.m. As a trooper was en route to the Cornettsville, a second call came in from a security guard at the clinic advising of a robbery.

Trooper Charles Moore arrived at the clinic and contacted the security guard who had placed the call to Post 13. The security guard advised that he was making his rounds throughout the clinic, when he encountered an armed male subject inside the building. The perpetrator held the guard at gunpoint while entry was made into the clinic pharmacy. Once inside, the unknown male subject took possession of an undetermined amount of prescription medication, and then fled the building on foot. The guard was uninjured.

The individual is described as being a white male, wearing a gray hooded shirt, jeans, and a ski mask. He was also carrying a blue duffle bag. A search of the clinic area did not produce the individual or any assisting evidence. This robbery remains under investigation by Tpr. Charles Moore with KSP Post 13.

]]>http://www.tct2.com/2015/01/12/perry-co-clinic-pharmacy-robbed/feed/0Ky. Transportation Cabinet among first Waze partnershttp://www.tct2.com/2015/01/12/ky-transportation-cabinet-among-first-waze-partners/
http://www.tct2.com/2015/01/12/ky-transportation-cabinet-among-first-waze-partners/#commentsMon, 12 Jan 2015 16:57:57 +0000jhallhttp://www.tct2.com/?p=1177FRANKFORT, Ky. (Jan. 7, 2015) – The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and Waze, the real-time, “crowd-sourced” navigation app powered by the world’s largest communities of drivers, have entered into a partnership through the new Waze Connected Citizens program, the company’s largest municipal effort to date.

Waze is a GPS-based geographical navigation application program for smartphones with GPS support and display screens. It provides turn-by-turn information and user-submitted travel times and route details, downloading location-dependent information over a mobile telephone network.

The mission of Waze Connected Citizens is to help cities, citizens and “Wazers,” as drivers using the app are known, collaborate to improve their community and answer the question: “What’s happening on our roads right now, and where?”

The program promotes more efficient traffic monitoring by sharing crowd-sourced incident reports from Waze drivers. Established as a two-way data share, Waze receives partner input such as feeds from road sensors, adds publicly available incident and road closure reports from the Waze traffic platform and returns a succinct, thorough overview of current road conditions.

With the addition of city data, Wazers can be safer and more knowledgeable about anything that can cause delays, such as construction, a flooded roadway or large public events. For cities, real-time information from drivers is essential, and no one knows more about what’s happening in a city than the people who live there.

“The data generated by Wazers will complement our 511 service,” Kentucky Transportation Secretary Mike Hancock said. “This crowd-sourced information will help us respond more quickly and efficiently to traffic situations. Managing congestion on Kentucky’s roads is an ongoing challenge for the Transportation Cabinet, so we’re glad to be a part of Waze Connected Citizens.”

“Waze was built by the global community with a sense that we’re all in this together,” said Di-Ann Eisnor, head of growth at Waze. “A free, accessible mobile platform like Waze eliminates superfluous layers and enables citizens and cities to connect directly. We are thrilled to pioneer the Connected Citizens program with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, which represents a commitment to efficiency and innovation.”

Deep technical knowledge is not required for selection as a Connected Citizens partner. Prospective partners must be dedicated to citizen engagement and commit to use Waze data to improve city efficiency. Partners are also expected to measure and share their findings with other municipal organizations, developing case studies that serve as keys to a global set of improvements which can be made for collective mobility.

Connected Citizens already has an exemplary case study in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In fall 2013, the office of Mayor Eduardo Paes reached out to Waze in an effort to better monitor road conditions during a visit to the city from Pope Francis. Within two weeks, the Centro de Operações Rio (Control Center of Rio) had embedded the Waze application program interface into its traffic control center, adding driver reports to existing data from road sensors and street cameras for a more contextual view – essentially creating an ever-changing urban dashboard.

Currently more than 20 municipal groups around the world participate in Connected Citizens.

“Traffic is a universal problem,” Eisnor commented. “Word has spread quickly because this is a solution the community has never seen before. We’re dedicated to answering every call to manage the demand.”

]]>http://www.tct2.com/2015/01/12/ky-transportation-cabinet-among-first-waze-partners/feed/0Local lawmaker charged with DUIhttp://www.tct2.com/2015/01/12/local-lawmaker-charged-with-dui/
http://www.tct2.com/2015/01/12/local-lawmaker-charged-with-dui/#commentsMon, 12 Jan 2015 16:56:26 +0000jhallhttp://www.tct2.com/?p=1175FRANKFORT (AP) — Authorities say a Kentucky lawmaker has been charged with driving under the influence after being stopped by a state police officer in Frankfort. Kentucky State Police Sgt. Michael Webb says Republican Sen. Brandon Smith, of Hazard, was stopped by the state trooper for speeding at about 9 p.m. EST Tuesday.

Webb said Wednesday that after making contact with Smith, the trooper suspected the senator had been drinking and arrested him on a DUI charge. Webb says the senator cooperated with the trooper but refused to take a Breathalyzer test. Webb says Smith also was cited for driving 20 mph over the speed limit.

Showers at the Shower House will be available from 6:00 am-12:00 am on the above days, and Sunday: 8:00 am-2:00 pm. In partnership with the Knott County Tourism Commission, the official program guide (with trail maps and guides, rules, vendor information, etc.) will be in this week’s newspaper and available at the gate to the trail ride. We’re looking forward to a great event!

Find the Troublesome Creek Times at local stores in Knott and surrounding counties or subscribe to the Times at (606)-785-5134

]]>http://www.tct2.com/2014/10/01/2014-fall-knott-county-trail-ride-schedule-of-events/feed/0Gingerbread Festival Schedule of Events 2014http://www.tct2.com/2014/09/03/gingerbread-festival-schedule-of-events-2014/
http://www.tct2.com/2014/09/03/gingerbread-festival-schedule-of-events-2014/#commentsThu, 04 Sep 2014 00:06:44 +0000jhallhttp://www.tct2.com/?p=1159The Knott County Gingerbread Festival 2014 Schedule of Events. The official program guide will be in tomorrow’s newspaper. We look forward to a great turnout this year!

Knott County contemporary Christian band Shiloh is broadening their audience to spread the word of Christ. The band is currently trying to raise funds through a Kickstarter page titled “Shiloh Album Kickstarter” that would allow them to produce their own CD. They are preparing to perform in Nashville next month with big-name Christian bands.

“For us to have the opportunity to praise God’s name through our music means everything to us,” says the band’s bass guitarist Byron Sparkman. “We all come from such different backgrounds and we’re at very different stages in our lives when God brought us together to form this band. We are amazed and continue to be humbled by the doors that He continues to open for us. There’s absolutely no better way to serve such a loving God than to use the very gifts that He gave us to give Him glory!

“To be given the chance to both minister to the lost and worship with people who also want to lift up the name of Jesus on a nightly basis is truly a dream come true for us. In today’s world, as we can all attest, God is not exalted like He used to be in society, in our schools, or even at our workplaces. Even churches sometimes want to “tone down” those who are “on fire” for Jesus. But, we’ve been given a command, by Jesus himself, to simply “GO” and fulfill His will for us and that’s what we’re doing. We don’t always know what we’re doing or how to do it, but we’re being obedient to His command, which is something that every person can learn from.”

The group looks to their past to write their future.

“Our music is influenced mostly by our personal experiences, our struggles, our accomplishments, and most importantly, our walk with Christ,” says Sparkman. “We want our listeners to understand that we are regular people, just like them, who have made mistakes and continue to have struggles. A lot of people assume that Christians are perfect (or in a lot of cases try to “act” like they are perfect) but we want to portray the opposite. We are all sinners, but we strive to be more like Christ.

“We are all huge jokesters! But, writing sessions are usually very mellow and for the most part, one of us will throw out an idea, a melody, a verse, or sometimes just a thought and we run with it from there. We all contribute in ways the others can’t so it works perfectly. We do a lot of writing with Mikey Howard, lead singer of the Christian rock band 7eventh Time Down, and he is talented beyond words. He can take a small idea and make it into a masterpiece. So, it’s definitely helpful to have someone like him to guide you through the writing process. We have a lot of good songs that we’re working on and we have a lot of terrible songs that we still laugh at from time to time. But that’s part of growing as musicians and as people in general.”

Their artist bio tells of the path that brought them to Christ and music to glorify Him:

Throughout the Bible, God used unlikely people to do extraordinary works. As modern disciples for Christ, members of the contemporary Christian band, “Shiloh” are perhaps the most unlikely candidates. Lead singer Ashley Sparkman spent her childhood singing country music. However, she lost faith in both herself and her voice after the death of her best friend, Karen Engle, also a singer, to a car accident in 2005.

“I felt as though I had lost the one person who believed in me and without her, I didn’t want to sing anymore,” recalls Ashley. “My love for music didn’t go away, I just felt an overwhelming sense of guilt for even wanting to sing knowing that she couldn’t sing with me anymore. But, after seven years, when I actually wanted to sing again, I had a terrible hold on me; these debilitating nerves that made even the thought of singing where someone could hear me the most terrifying thing ever.”

But, after rededicating her life to the Lord in 2012, Ashley felt as though God was leading her to use her voice to glorify Him, and she submitted to Him the talent that He had given her.

“I sing from my heart to the Lord and I know that’s what my purpose is now.”

Her husband Byron lived a life as far from God as anyone could be. He left the military to make a career as a Kentucky State Police officer where God used a traffic accident and a young girl he helped save to rededicate his life to the Lord. Soon after, he was called to the ministry and immediately had a dream of building a college ministry that would move and revive the quiet and sleepy town of Pippa Passes, KY. God opened doors and Caney Student Ministries (CSM) arose, established in a small, abandoned church on the campus of Alice Lloyd College.

As yet another step in God’s plan, through CSM, Alex “Bubby” White (lead guitar) came to know the Lord and Braxton Burke (drums) rededicated his life to Christ as students at Alice Lloyd College. Consumed with a love for Christ and music, they had no further intentions except to form a live praise and worship band for CSM. However, God moved in the ministry, their lives, and their talents. They called themselves “Shiloh”, derived from Genesis 49:10 and it became obvious to the band that God had plans for them that extended outside the four walls of their college ministry. They’ve gratefully shared the stage with bands like Disciple and After Edmund and look forward to a busy summer in 2014.

After song writing and much prayer, God opened the doors that led Shiloh to Mikey Howard, who is also a co-writer of Christian Music’s hit song, “Just Say Jesus”. Howard recently co-wrote and produced Shiloh’s first 3-song EP. The title track “Overcome the World” is based on Ashley’s struggle with fear of failure and redemption.

“I love that this song has a message that can relate to every single person and their unique struggles. We all face giants, each and every day, but those problems are nothing to Jesus, because He has overcome the world. There are no giants that can stand against Him,” Ashley says.

With many new ideas for songs and collaborations with other artists in the works, Shiloh is ready for what God has next on the checklist they feel He has made for them. Producer and mentor, Howard says that Shiloh is “a powerhouse vocal, laced with hope and conviction. Their rock roots mixed with their polished pop choruses are a fresh and welcomed sound!”

Most importantly, Shiloh wants to create music that gives God all the glory and that their fans can get lost in.

“I can remember exactly where I was when I heard ‘Come to Me’ by Kari Jobe” says Ashley. “I literally dropped to my knees and was moved to tears by her voice and the power in that song.”

With that goal in mind, the members of Shiloh want their music to be an important and memorable part of their fans’ journeys to come to know Christ and submit their lives fully to Him.

Shiloh will be playing with Rhett Walker at “Vision for Him” in Pineville, KY on 7/26th. The next Saturday they will be with King and Country and Vertical Church at Pneumafest in Belfry, Ky. They will be performing with 7eventh Time Down and Rhett Walker at the Impact Festival in Spring Hill, TN on August 17 in a showcase in front of Christian record labels. A complete schedule of events can be found at www.facebook.com/Shiloh1.

Find the Troublesome Creek Times at local stores in Knott and surrounding counties or subscribe to the Times at (606)-785-5134

Delicious homemade pies were offered to the public free during the Food Summit event. (Photo by Jordan Thomas Hall)

By JORDAN THOMAS HALL

The first Appalachian Food Summit: A Celebration of Our Appalachian Food Heritage was held Sunday at the Hindman Settlement School.

The multi-state gathering, the first of its kind, brought together authors, chefs, farmers, advocates, scholars and consumers dedicated to preserving traditional Appalachian foodways and supporting a future where farming, local food and culinary tourism are part of economic development in the region.

Hindman Settlement School Program Director Brett Ratliff helped to bring the event to Hindman.

The day’s program was offered free to the public and included a “pie-luck” brunch for people to sample sweet and savory pies and sides to eat during midday.

The Summit concluded with a dinner sponsored by Appalachia Proud, the new Kentucky Proud brand that designates food products produced in a 37-county region of Eastern Kentucky.

“Appalachia Proud is a comprehensive movement aimed at generating economic development through agriculture in Eastern Kentucky,” state Agriculture Commissioner James Comer said. “Appalachia Proud raises consumer awareness of the region’s many outstanding food producers and its rich food heritage.”

The contemporary catfish-based dinner was prepared by acclaimed chef Travis Milton, a native of Castlewood, Va., with produce, dairy, and meats from mountain farms in Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, and Tennessee. Kentucky and Appalachia Proud farmers and producers to be featured at the dinner include HF Farms, Friends Drift Inn Farm Produce, Climax Spring Water, Curehouse dry-cured hams, and Holbrook Brothers Sorghum.

“Food binds us all together,” expressed Milton. “Food venues are a good opportunity to address issues in our society (education, drugs, poverty, etc.) and holding such an event in the focus area is key, hopefully serving also as an economic boost. For the things I couldn’t buy locally-sourced, I at least bought locally, helping the economy- and I think that’s very important.”

Find the Troublesome Creek Times at local stores in Knott and surrounding counties or subscribe to the Times at (606)-785-5134